Hey guys I'm looking for Ostrich feathers not the fluff herl but feathers. I've call most of the shops Portland, SW WA, and even a couple of east coast shops. Secrets can't be devulged, but lend a hand if you've got any ideas on sources. I'm sure the PNW's will see this thing soon and Juro, well that's given.

andre

Doublespey

04-10-2000, 05:48 PM

Hey Andre,

Sounds like quite a trip on the Skagit - are you going to post an Ed Ward report (as in what he was like as a guide)?

Anyway, I think I remember seeing some Ostrich feathers in the Quality Fly Shop (Port Angeles, WA). The shop specializes in hard-to-find feathers and furs and have a really good selection. I don't have their # handy - will email you when I find it.

Also try Anglers Workshop in Woodland, WA. They have a lot of exotic flytying stuff and, even though not a fly shop, are a good source for materials.

Hasta,

B

andre

04-10-2000, 06:46 PM

Brian,

I'll check the shops out. good point on AW I forgot all about them, They are closed when I drive by too light or to dark. On the report too busy right now wait a couple days just swamped.

thanks

andre

juro

04-10-2000, 11:00 PM

Couple more to try (Andre I will look for it myself when I can get back to the shop)...

Alright no luck so far it appears the bottom has fallen out of the Ostrich market. more help

juro

04-12-2000, 03:18 AM

Andre-

Just thought of something... Ed dyes his own, so he isn't getting feathers from the same sources where I had seen ostrich feathers before... they were pre-dyed and in single feather packages. He's probably buying a set of plumes in a natural ostrich duster an dying them! After seeing how resourceful he is and admiring his ability to see the potential in the simplest things, I can't help but think this is his source. His ability to see through the obvious also shows in his ability to read water.

Juro

andre

04-12-2000, 05:51 AM

I questioned him on his supply channel. He was buying them at a county fair, someone locally was a breeder and used to sell them. I checked with a couple of local pheasant breeders (Everett area) they directed me to California without names. The Quest is on I do have a few months until next winter.

I'd tell you but you INTRUDED. http://216.71.206.188/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif

bill

04-17-2000, 09:06 PM

Went to Vancouver Island this weekend with two other couples from work, and we were driving from Nanaimo to Tofino when we passed three ostriches in a large fenced area. I didn't have any trouble convincing everyone to stop, and Rekha and I proceeded to hunt all around the perimeter for loose feathers. The only feathers to be found were old, mangy and brittle :( Rekha was even sticking her hand through the fence to grab some that looked a little better, but each time she did so, the male which was following us everywhere would go straight for her! :) The place where they were being kept was connected to a bed & breakfast, but strangely its sign only said it was a b&b, and there was no name for it anywhere. I was going to go and knock, but we'd kept everyone waiting for a while already. As we got back to the car, the male put on a show for us by mounting one of the females - you should have seen the thing waving its wings and head all around! it was really quite an amazing scene. now i wonder if there is a special significance to the ostrich feathers people wear in hats :)
Bill

juro

04-17-2000, 10:41 PM

You had your chance to grab a fistfull of feather while the ostrich was doin' that funky thang! Oooops - that tain't no feather - dOh!

Seriously, I saw a perfectly white albino hawk today. I glided (glid?) directly over my head in Bedford MA. I almost fell over backwards looking at it. Amazing. Not a single thought of feathers for fly tying came to mind... until now - hmmmmmm...... http://216.71.206.188/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif

andre

04-18-2000, 09:49 AM

Oh my god Bill you just made my day. That is the funniest thing I've read in a long while.

andre

juro

04-18-2000, 10:08 AM

Whoa - wait a minute did you say you went to TOfino? Bill, let's hear some details... I would like to do a BC hooknose clave there someday soon. How long of a drive from the ferry? Boat rental rates for fall? Obviously the off-season rates on the resorts was good, but did you get late season (August / September) rates?

tell me more!

bill

04-18-2000, 12:50 PM

As the joke goes, Betty Ford's method of birth control was to give Gerry a stick of gum when they went to bed :)
I'm pretty single-focused myself, and was in (non-fishing) vacation mode the whole time, so i wasn't checking into things like fishing boat rental rates, etc. - our hunting was focused on food, wine, coffee, .., although i was practically drooling on the windows as we drove by all the rivers. We stopped and hiked around some at Englishman Falls, and i was scheming how Rekha and i could come back with the truck and camp on a river :)

The place where we stayed was http://www.duffin-cove-resort.com It was really nice, and despite the image from the web site's home page, it was only a block out of town. The "Common Loaf" is probably the best place in town for good coffee, not to mention breakfast & lunch.

Tofino is absolutely beautiful, but i understand it gets really crowded in summer. We went out on a zodiac whale watch and saw all kinds of cool stuff - they put twin 225s on those boats and they do 60 - the guy driving it was responding well to all the whooping and hollering, and was running it pretty hard & launching us off the waves :) It was a little bit of a haul to get there from Seattle - we went up to Tswassen (just over the border) and took a ferry to Nanaimo, where we crashed around 1:00am, then drove up the island the next morning.
I have no idea if the ferry to Victoria from Anacortez would be a better route - if we go again, and i expect we will, i'll probably ask someone from Tofino for the true best route from Seattle. One thing to consider is that if you are trying to catch the last ferry out of Tswassen, factor in some time for getting through the border - we were lucky on this trip, but have had the car/bike searched a couple of times going into canada.

juro

04-18-2000, 03:08 PM

They were looking for smuggled cul de ostrich canard http://216.71.206.188/images/flytalk/Wilk.gif

Tofino is primarily a saltchuck tyee and coastal flyfishing area for big hooknose coho. It's another primo western Vancouver island coastal area (like Ucluelet). I am not aware of the river angling, although I gotta believe it's great. Every time I've fished the pacific coast of Vancouver Island it's been toward shore from boats coming from the US Olympic coast. Many of my Boeing friends made regular pilgrimages to TOfino and Barkeley Sound, etc. They typically release any chinook under 25-30 pounds.

Even the seemingly insignificant Nitinat Lake inlet to the east has been a perennial hotspot for us. 30 pound tyee in 10-20 feet of water!

Along the coast, bright glacial cascades tumble from cliffs into the pounding surfline along pristine shores. Other than the clearcutting and timber devastation in the foothills, the place would be the very picture of wilderness in it's prime.

Sounds like a great expedition you had!

Doublespey

04-18-2000, 04:57 PM

Check out that Duffin Cove web page!

Hell, I'd be out there with my 6wt fishing in front of the A-Frame &lt;g&gt;

juro

04-18-2000, 10:43 PM

Verrrry nice! I still think we need to have an Island Hooknose Clave one of these years. Perhaps 2001?